Finder.



J. BECKER.

FINDER.

APPLICATION 'FILED-Aucas. 191s.

1 ,296, 1 56. Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

JZ /M/ UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

JOSEPH BECKER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT F COLUMBIA, ASSIG-NOR TO EASTMANKODAK COMPANY, OIF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

FINDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

Original application filed February 17, 1905, Serial No. 246,169.Divided and this application led August 3,

1 918. y Serial No. 248,185.

T 0 all whom 'may concern Be itknown that I, JOSEPH BECKER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia,-

have invented a new and useful Improvement in Finders, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present patent application, identified for convenience of referenceas Case Ba or Div. 6 of J, is Division 6 of my prior application Case J,Serial No. 246,169, filed February 17, 1905, now Patent 1,210,136,issued December 26, 1916; and it relates to certain features of the saidCase J which are separately patentable under the head of Finders.

The'present specification will hereinafter refer more or lessspecifically to vmy related applications or patents as follows:`Case C,filed June 4, 1901, now Patent 1,178,476; Case G, Serial No. 110,299,tiled J uney 5, 1902, temporarily abandoned, but now represecuted as thebelow identified Case Az or G; the above referred to parent Case J,tiled February 17 1905, now Patent 1,210,136; my Case Ah or Division ofC, now Patent 1,210,134; my Case Ao or Division 1 of J, now Patent1,210,137 my Case Ap or Division 2 of J, Serial No. 133,162, filedNovember 24, 1916; my Case Aq or Division 3 of J, Serial No. 136,293,led December l1, 1916; my Case Ar or Division 4 of J, Serial No.136,428, filed December 12, 1916; my Case As or Division 5 of J, SerialNo. 136,684, led December 13, 1916; my Case Az or G, Serial No. 236,659,tiled May 25, 1918. v

The subject-matter of the present application, Case Ba or Division 6 ofJ, was first presented for patent in' 1905 as a constituent part of mysaid Case J; it was again filed as a constituent part of my said Case Aqor Division 3 of J; and it is now a third time presented for patent as aseparably patentable part of my said Case Aq, really constitutingDivision 6 of my said Case J.

The present invention relates to finders of the divergent lens typespecially adapted for use in combination with cameras of thecollapsible'or folding type, and its main objects are (l) to securecompactness of arrangement so as to avo`d projecting parts; (2) to bringthe center of the finder field as close as possible to the center of thecamera field.

My invention comprises a divergent lens fixed to the forward or lenssupporting part of the camera, and a rear sight on the rear part of thecamera, with all elements arranged and proportioned so that the group offinder rays that proceeds from the camera vfield through the finderlens, to the observer-s eye, shall pass grazingly over the said rearpart of the camera.

This grazing e'ect was first disclosed by me in Figs. 4 and 5 of my saidCase G, and

is .now reproduced in Figs. 4 and 5 of my said Case Az or G.

In this Case-G form of the invention, however, the inder'lens is'centric, so that it must project when the camera parts are assembled intheir compact relative position of non-use.

My present invention, therefore, in its preferred form comprises, inaddition to the grazing feature of the said Case G, the eccentric lensfeature of my said other cases.

The rear sight, in its present preferred form, consists in a shortdepressed stra-ight edge formed by recessing the rear part of thecamera, so that said straight edge shall contract transversely with, andproject equally beyond the sides of, the lower flat triangular face ofthe rectangular pyramid formed by the group of rays proceeding from thefinder lens to the observers eye.

In 'the accompanying drawings two different embodiments of the inventionare shown.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a foldin pocket camera of a type whichwas made an sold in great numbers, prior to 1904, by the Eastman KodakCompany, of Rochester, N. Y., and which is here shown provided with aform of my eccentric lens finder that comprises a straight-edge rearsight, 115, 116. v

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, with winding key 101 omitted forclearness, and with parts broken away so as to show the eccentric finderlens, as well as the rear sight which coperates with it, both invertical section.

Fig. 3 is an inside isometric perspective view of the metallic frontpart of the same camera, as modified to provide a suitable housing forthe finder lens.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a modified larger form of lens'housing.

yes

Fig. 5 is a face view of the same modified form with the finder lens inplace.

Camera of Figs. 1 to 3.

Figsjl, 2 and 3 show my present invention-as applied to a type offoldingcamera which was made and sold in great numbers, prior to 1904,by the Eastman Kodak Company, of Rochester, N. 'Y., and which in thepresent embodiment is of the special size required for making a negativewhose dimensions are 2 and i by 3 and inches.

The camera is well known and need not. be described, except in generalterms. It comprises a film holding part 100 in which a rolled film isadapted to be unwound for exposure and rewound by means of a key 101.

Within the part 100 is mounted a peculiar system of linkages 102carrying at its outer end the objective and shutter holding frame 103,104, which is thus adapted to be pushed 'back into arecess of the filmholding part 100, or to be easily pulled out into its position of useshown in Fig. 2. The front elevation, Fig. 1, of the camera is the samewhen the camera is folded as when it is opened up; in Fig. 1, however,the camera is supposed to be opened up, and for this reason theoperators eye E is also shown reduced within the finder, at A, which isidentical with point A of Figs. 2 and 3 -in my said Case Aq, where Ihave therefore, called the said point A the virtual eye.

The part 103 of the objective holding frame is made of metal and isdirectly connected vwith and really forms part of the system oflinkages, being guided by it to move in and out of part 100, withverynearly parallel motion. The edges 105 of this part 103 are turnedin, to form a recess into which the part 104 is adapted to fit snugly.Parts104 and 103 are fastened together by means of two screws 106. Thepart 104 has mounted in it the shutter; also the camera objective, whosecenter is indicated at S.

The part 103, as seen in Fig. 3, is made just as in the original camera,with the exception that the upper left-hand corner is modified to form abox-like housing 108, the lower side of which is entirely open. Aneccentric lens 127 is trimmed to be easily introduced into housing 108through this lower open side thereof, and it is firmly held in place byassembling parts 103 and 104, the latter being cut away, as seen in Fig.2, to accurately close the lower open side of the lens housing. The lensneed not be very firmly held. A little looseness and play, especially inthe thickness, is not objectlonable, and, therefore, a certain roughnessof finish is permissible. However, should 1t be desired to finishroughly and to prevent should then be trued to secure the proper degreeof eccentricity.

The front wall and the rear wall of the housing have rectangularopenings, the dimensions of which correspond to those of the camera.plate or film 123, to properly limit and define the finder field so itshall be the same as the camera field. These two openings may be cut, asin my said Case Ap, so

that the rear opening shall apparently be concentric with the frontopeningfor the operator when he has his eye in *the proper slghtingposition.

The line of' sight is,however, more easily and preferably determined inaccordance with the present invention, that is to say, by forming adepressed straight-edge rear sight 115, 116 on the edge of part 100 andby making the lens of the proper eccentricity as explained in my saidprior Case Aq, so Vthat the pyramid alpha (a), which incloses all therays that proceed from'the finder- 127 to the eye at E, shall just reston the straight edge 115, 116. This rear sight 115, 116 is easily formedby cutting a rectangular recess in the leather covering, as shown inFigs. 5 and 6.

The camera as heretofore made was provided with two finders, one to beused with the long edges of the film in horizontal position, the otherto be used when the camera is turned so that the long edges are heldvertically, and in either case the camera, when used, had to be held atabout the height of the Waist.

With my improved finder, one finder answers for the two positions justmentioned, and for any intermediate position, as well. Moreover, thecamera in use is held just a little lower than the operators eye, thatis, just about where it ought to be to show in the camera. the samepicture as one sees naturally. Cameras adapted to be used waist highgive undesirable perspectives and are difficult to use in a throng ofpeople.

Camera of Figs. 4 wml 5.

On examining Fig. 5, it will be seen that there is ample room at theright-of the finder and 'below it for a larger finder. A

- stead, its inside vertical wall left open for the insertion of thefinder lens. The part (not shown) corresponding to the block 104 of therst form is trimmed to close the in the combination o 'lower part of theside opening and block the entrance of the housing so as to lock the v 2(1, 2, 3) shows very clearly, but very meagerly describes, as partof aBreton hand camera, a finder which. seems to comprise a f divergent lensVv mounted'on the lens sup-- vporting part of the camera, and a-rear.sight nountedv on the plate holding part of the camera. This Breton rearsight, however,

does projectl to a certain extent, and it is, moreover, concavedcircularly,'as if intended for the lower half of a small circularlyapertured pee sight. According to my invention, allo the finder .raysthat proceedfrom.

'the' rectangular finder window to the observers eye are comprisedwithinvthe four flat triangular faces of a pyramid whose cross section isrectangular so thatv any rear l peep aperture located as mine is (aboutmidway between the eye and the finderlens) should, if complete, be arelatively large rectangular window aboutone-ha'lf as large as thefinder window itself; and such aperture would, furthermore, be solocated with reference to the camera frame that the pyramidal group`ofrays would beV made toLre'st flat upon the straight edge bottom of arectangular recess cut into the body of the camera frame.

NOTE 2.'-This LaNatwre article of'Note l was reproduced in the Scientz'cAmerican Supplement, New York, 1889, but the text relatingto the finderV is even less com-J.

plete than in the original French.

NOTE 3ra-Breton very likely had French patents, but they do not seem tohave been published. s

NOTE 4.--The precise rules given in my said Case Ao for determining thebest shape of the lens evidently apply in the present Case Ba. J

What I\ claim as my invention-and desire to secure by Letters vPatentis:

- 1.4 The combination'with -a photographic camera of the collapsible orfolding type comprising: a forward part adapted to support, more or lessdirectly, the photographic lens; a rear part adapted to receive andsupport, more or less directly, lthe sensitized v plate or lm; and meansfor holding said v two'camera parts in a separated relative po- "sitionof usefor making exposures; of a" simple or compound diver ent lensfixed to the said forward part of t e camera; anda v coperating rearsight or mark for said divergent lens, on the said rear part of thecamera; all elements being proportioned, ar-

^ranged, land held so that the4 group of finder rays that proceeds fromthe camera field through the finder lens, to the observers eye, shallpass grazngly over the said rear part ofthe camera. f

2. The combination with a photographic camera of the collapsible orfolding type comprising: a forward part .adapted to support, more orlessdirectly, the photographlcl lens; a rear part adapted toreceive andsupport, more or less directly, the'sensitized Y platee-or' lm; andmeans for holding said' two camera parts in a separated relativeposition of use formaking exposures; of, a simple or compounddivergentlens fixed `to the said forward part of the camera; and acoperating rear sight or mark for .said 'di-" vergent lens,- on the saidrear part of the camera; all elements being proportioned, ar-

ranged, and held so that the group of finder rays that .proceeds fromthe camera eld through the finder lens, to the observers eye, shall passgrazin'gly over the said* rear part of the camera, said finder lensbeing, moreso i over, eccentric to such vdegree that it will be 1non-projecting'when the said two camera parts are'compactly assembled in.their relative positions of vnon-use.l

In testimony whereof, I 'have signed my name to this specificationJOSEPH BECKER;

Witness MARYv E. COWELL.

